The Pleasure of Entrainment

If entrainment is a form of pleasure, it is a pleasure at once structural and experiential, both mathematically regular and playfully flexible. Entrainment is not a phenomenon completely unique to games, but it does come very close to identifying the curious structural pleasure that all game experiences seem to contain: the meditative patterns of Tetris; the turn-taking, clacking cadence of Billiards; the rhythmic shooting pattern of Space Invaders; the pulsing flow of cards, hits, and chips of Blackjack. Each of these game experi-ences-every game experience-can be framed as an instance of entrainment.

Entrainment is the experience of the same-but-different. As players explore the space of possible game pleasures, progress through the space occurs through patterned repetition, the drumbeat driving the heart of a game experience. Entrainment sometimes literally takes on form: the recurrent bleep of a laser blast, or the relentless throb of a marathon runner's steps. But ultimately, entrainment manifests in a more pervasive fashion, occupying not just perceptual sensations, but modes of thinking and feeling as well.The double-sided definition of the word entrainment, to carry along and to trap, is entirely accurate. The patterns of a game initially draw us in, moving us forward, encouraging us to play. But somehow, at some point, something changes. We find ourselves not just playing a game, but being played by the game as well. Pleasure is amighty force, and it can carry along those trapped in its wake.